One Does Not Simply Drive Into Mordor
by Miss Mysty
Summary: Three-shot.  The New Year after Ritsu confesses his love to Masamune, Masamune ends up going to the annual Onodera New Year's celebration, with all the awkward situations it implies.
1. Chapter 1

**This was originally going to be a one-shot, but I decided to split it into three pieces. The next chapter will be posted on Thursday unless I'm feeling especially inspired.**

Chapter 1

It was basically a given that Ritsu would be home for the new year. Gathering together was a big family affair that heeded nothing during the year- not even a member officially breaking off his arranged engagement and getting together with another man. Not that anyone but his parents were aware of this.

On December 30th, Ritsu was painfully reminded of this when he finally checked his voice messages. Masamune looked over his shoulder, a mildly interested expression on his face. They were on the train back home after Masamune had convinced Ritsu to go out on a date with him.

"Do you mind?" Ritsu asked, keying in his voice mail password and putting his phone to his ear.

Masamune just smiled and brushed his lips against Ritsu's free ear, eliciting a surprised jump but not much else. Ritsu's frown deepened as he closed his phone, though. "What's the matter?"

"I need to call my mother once we get off the subway. She's expecting me home tomorrow." Ritsu sighed and slumped in his seat. "This year has been way too long." Then he eyed Masamune. "Are you going home for the New Year?"

"This year was not the year to make up with my family, I guess." He looked indifferent as he watched the tunnel lights fly by, but Ritsu knew better.

Before he could comment, though, their stop was announced. Ritsu pulled out his phone and started dialing as soon as they left the train. The call went through by the time Ritsu and Masamune were out in the open.

"Good evening, Mother."

"Ritsu! What in the world is the point of having a cell phone if you never answer?"

"I'm sorry, mother. I was… out with Masamune and wasn't paying attention."

_"Why don't you call me by my first name?"_

_"Masamune is too long!"_

_"Then shorten it."_

_"I am NOT giving you a cutesy nickname!"_

_"Shame."_

"Oh, Ritsu." That was all his mother could say. Whenever the subject of her son's significant other came up, she sounded tired, even though she hadn't yet met Masamune.

Well technically she had, once, when they were in high school, but of course his name had been Saga back then and his parents hadn't been told about that connection.

Finally, though, Onodera-mama took a deep breath and said, "Perhaps Takano-san would like to come over at some point? Of course he has his own family that he's obligated to."

"I'd love to," Masamune said, leaning close to Ritsu to speak into the phone. "What time should we be over?"

"Takano-san!" Ritsu yelled, temporarily reverting back to the flustered manga editor. He still called Masamune by his last name when they were at work, if only for show. It wasn't like the people in the department didn't know about their relationship by then.

"Oh! Um… Ritsu is supposed to be here for lunch." Onodera-mama sounded flustered. "Are you sure you can come?"

Ritsu glanced at Masamune before saying, "His family, um, doesn't live in Tokyo so it's been a while since he's made the trip." It was only partially a lie; his mother and her new family did live in Tokyo, but his father didn't, and it _had_ been a while since he'd bothered visiting either of them.

Masamune agreed and finally stopped invading Ritsu's personal space. Ritsu was more than ready to hang up, but then his mother just had to add, "Ritsu, why did you call him by his last name?"

Ritsu froze at that, not even aware his mother had heard his exclamation. "That is, because-"

"Ritsu's still not used to calling me by my first name. We work together, after all, and must maintain a professional environment there." Masamune said it smoothly and after invading Ritsu's space in the most inconspicuous way possible.

"Oh, I see." The line went quiet for a bit, and Ritsu actually checked to make sure the call hadn't been dropped. "Ritsu was supposed to stay for a couple days and you're welcome to if you want…"

"Thank you. We'll see you tomorrow."

Ritsu glanced at Masamune, irritated, before saying, "Goodnight, Mother. We'll be there around noon." As soon as his mother said goodbye, he flipped the phone shut and glared at Masamune. They were outside their apartment building by then. "What the hell?" It was really all he could say.

Masamune smiled as he opened the door. "What, you don't want to introduce your family to your boyfriend?"

Ritsu's face went an incredibly interesting shade of red at that, and he decided it was better to just head for the elevator. Of course, they were going to the exact same part of the exact same floor, so he wasn't able to get away from Masamune for long. They stood there side-by-side for about three floors, before Masamune finally sighed and said, "Ritsu."

"What?" He faced Masamune with a scowl, but it didn't last long; Masamune leaned down and caught him in a kiss. It was chaste and quick, much different from how he usually kissed. Ritsu found himself wanting more, but, after several months, he still hadn't quite gotten the hang of asking for such things.

Instead, though, Masamune said, "I'm looking forward to it." He took Ritsu's hand and kissed him again, more passionate this time. Ritsu found himself lacing their fingers together and allowing Masamune to deepen the kiss, completely ignoring the ding signaling they were up to their floor, and also the rattle as the elevator doors opened.

He could not, however, ignore the woman standing there, watching them with raised eyebrows. It didn't take him long to recognize her as the neighbor who thought he and Masamune were part of a host club; he'd had multiple encounters with her since the first time. Each time, Masamune had managed to further engrain in her mind that they were hosts.

"Oh my," the woman said. Ritsu was desperately trying to wrench his hand from his boyfriend's grip, but to no avail. "I had no idea you served that kind of clientele as well."

Ritsu could've punched something at that, preferably the man with the vice-grip on his hand. He was still far too polite for that, though, and before he could even attempt to correct her, Masamune covered his mouth with his free hand and smiled. "We do have the occasional one, yes. Now, if you'll excuse us." He pushed past her, one hand holding Ritsu's and the other hand still over his mouth. It was only when the woman was on the elevator and they were in the space between their doors that he let him go.

"You idiot! Why do you keep making her misunderstand?" Ritsu demanded. Masamune, of course, looked indifferent. Instead of pissing him off more, though, this just made Ritsu deflate. "Goodnight, Masamune."

"What, I don't get sex tonight?"

Ritsu scowled and slammed his apartment door.

xxx

Ritsu had wanted to take the subway into the part of Tokyo where his family lived, but Masamune had told him to not be stupid and get in the car. After what must have been the most halfhearted fight they'd ever had, Ritsu ended up sitting in the front, giving directions while Masamune squinted at street signs through his glasses.

"I should probably warn you," Ritsu said, leaning against the door and staring out the window rather than at Masamune. "My parents have a big dog. She's trained to attack strangers."

"It's nice that you care enough to warn me," Masamune said, sounding only slightly sarcastic. "Did they have it when we were in high school?"

"Nah, they got it when I finished college and officially moved out. I guess Mother felt lonely." Ritsu had his cheek pressed to the glass of the window at that point, only vaguely paying attention as their surroundings got grander and more expensive-looking the further they drove. He only brought his attention back to the present when the car stopped. "…and Mother forgot to unlock the gate for us."

"One does not simply drive into Mordor," Masamune said, looking amused at his own joke. This earned a glare from Ritsu, which was promptly ignored in favor of watching as an old, foreign-looking woman approached the gate and stared at their car. "Who's that?"

"…um, Miller-sensei. She was my tutor. Taught me English, and things like that. She also took care of me during my foreign exchange." Ritsu averted his eyes as the woman started yelling at them, not, apparently, able to see through the windshield at the occupants of the car. Then he got out and walked over to her. In perfect English, tinged with an English accent that amused Masamune to no end, he said, "Hello, Mrs. Miller. It's good to see you again."

"Ritsu Onodera, what in the world are you doing in that car?" She was speaking in English as well, shifting her eyes between Ritsu and the car.

Ritsu ducked his head, waving his arm vaguely at it. "Didn't Mother tell you I had a guest coming?"

At that point, Masamune rolled the driver's side window down and poked his head out so Mrs. Miller could see him. His English was a little rusty, so all he dared to do was wave. Mrs. Miller unlocked the gate, but she was giving Masamune the stink-eye as he drove through. Ritsu looked uncomfortable as Masamune stopped the car in front of him and asked where he was supposed to park.

"Um, Mother and Papa have a guest garage right there. The brown building," Ritsu said, pointing vaguely.

Masamune just gawked at his boyfriend when he said 'guest garage' but nodded, pushing his glasses back up on his nose with his pointer finger and continuing on. The gravel driveway crunched under his car's tires, and Ritsu turned back to Mrs. Miller, who was still looking not unlike Sauron protecting Mordor. Ritsu fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable. "Mrs. Miller, it's okay."

Mrs. Miller sighed and folded her arms. "If you say so. You might want to watch out for Tsuyu, though. She's been excited all morning."

As if on cue, the front doors of the large house opened up, and a large dog came bounding out. Masamune had managed to park by then and was walking across the driveway, but when he saw all this happening, he stopped and folded his arms, just watching. The dog bounded at Ritsu and attacked, making him tumble backward as she licked his face.

"Hey, Tsuyu," Ritsu said, petting the dog on the head while trying to push her away. She was large, though, and quite determined to bathe Ritsu's face until it was shiny and clean. Suddenly she stopped, though, and Ritsu opened his eyes to see Masamune was standing there. Tsuyu started growling. "Tsuyu, it's okay. He's not an enemy."

Suddenly, Tsuyu started wagging her tail again, and she jumped off Ritsu, knocking the wind out of him, and bounded over to Masamune. Unlike with Ritsu, however, she didn't push him to the ground, instead sitting obediently at his feet and waiting to be pet on the head.

"Hmph," Mrs. Miller said, helping Ritsu to his feet. She was speaking in Japanese now, but she still had a hint of her accent. "I suppose if Tsuyu is okay with him, he can't be all bad."

"You'd be surprised," Ritsu muttered, rolling his eyes, but he didn't look too put-off with Masamune bonding with his dog.

Suddenly, though, Mrs. Miller seemed to realize something, and she whacked Ritsu over the head. "What are you doing standing out here? Your mother and father have been waiting for you!" Masamune suddenly looked interested at this, and Tsuyu started running back for the house. Mrs. Miller took Ritsu by the arm as if he needed a guide and said, "Well, come on, come on!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Tsuyu was first in the door when it mysteriously opened as soon as they approached. She licked the person behind it before running ahead, disappearing down a winding hallway.

"Mama, good morning!" And there stood a petite woman, her hair dark but her eyes blue like Mrs. Miller's. She was dressed in a simple skirt and shirt, with an apron over her clothes and a bandana holding her hair back. Unlike her mother, she did not speak Japanese with any kind of accent. When she saw her mother leading in someone, she smiled. "Good morning, Ricchan."

Ritsu cringed at the nickname. "Good morning, Annie." He glanced back at Masamune, who was looking all around, taking in his surroundings. "Um, this is my guest, Takano Masamune."

"Good morning, Masa-chan!" Annie had a warm smile on her face, despite both Ritsu and Masamune looking alarmed.

Mrs. Miller sighed and tugged on her daughter's hair. "What have I told you about being so familiar?"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Annie blushed furiously as she bowed. "Takano-sama."

Ritsu snorted at that, looking infinitely amused as Mrs. Miller just sighed. "Close enough."

"I'll let your parents know you're here." Annie closed the door, but before she could get far down the hall, Tsuyu came bounding back. She was immediately followed by a frazzled-looking woman in a skirt suit. Masamune was surprised, to tell the truth; he had half been expecting to find the matriarch of the Onodera family wearing an intricate kimono, possibly with her hair back in a bun using hair sticks.

Before anyone could start the awkward introductions, Tsuyu knocked Ritsu over again. Ritsu winced as Tsuyu licked his face. "Tsuyu, give me back my contact!" The dog spit out the lens and moved off Ritsu, but she still wagged her tail as she sat there, staring all around.

Even with one good eye Ritsu could see his mother was eying Masamune, her eyes going from the driving glasses he hadn't taken off, to the long winter coat, to the shoes that had lost their shine from tracking around in mud and snow for several weeks now. Ritsu wouldn't admit it to Masamune, but he found his boyfriend handsome despite all this. His mother seemed more hesitant to accept this, though.

"You must be Takano-san," Ritsu's mother said, her mouth quirking up at the corners in an attempt at a smile. She was a civil woman, if nothing else.

Masamune bowed. "It's an honor to meet you, Onodera-san. Your son speaks well of you."

Ritsu's mother's smile faltered. "Why do I not believe that?"

"It's not like I badmouth you or anything, Mother," Ritsu said, slipping his shoes off from where he still sat from Tsuyu's pounce. "I just have my own life, so visiting every weekend isn't possible anymore."

Masamune was ready with a response to support this when there was a sudden bang from the backyard. It scared Tsuyu away and Masamune looked alarmed, but Ritsu and his mother acted like they hadn't even heard it.

"They're already setting off firecrackers?"

"Well, you know your cousins. As soon as they get here they're in celebration mode. I told them to take it out back since there's more room." Another crack sounded, and Mrs. Miller could be heard down the hall, saying something in English that may or may not have been 'Those damn kids on my lawn.' "You can join them, if you want. Lunch won't be ready for a while yet. Annie and Mrs. Miller have been a bit distracted today."

It was as good an excuse as any to cut the awkward tension between Masamune and his mother down, so Ritsu went to clean off his contact before leading the way outside.

xxx

The scene that greeted them when they got to the backyard was mostly smoke, with the dead carcasses of sparklers and firecrackers littered around without a care in the world.

"I feel like I'm walking into a warzone," Masamune said. He'd taken off his glasses and put them in his coat pocket, but he put them back on just to protect his eyes.

"Funny, that was my thought when I was brought to the Emerald office on my first day." Ritsu gave Masamune a significant look before being first to enter the fray. Of course, just by his notoriously bad luck, one of the kids set off a firecracker near him without looking, and Masamune pulled him out of the way before damage could be done.

"Ricchan!" The young boy who'd almost decapitated him dropped the unlit firecrackers and tackled Ritsu. "Kana said you wouldn't come this year but she's stupid so I didn't believe her."

"I doubt my mom would let me get away with missing this." Ritsu had a smile on his face that Masamune wasn't sure he'd ever seen.

There was so much chaos that this little boy seemed to be the only one noticing Ritsu. He also, however, noticed Masamune watching it all and tilted his head, still clinging to Ritsu's torso. "Ricchan, who's that?"

Ritsu's face immediately went red, but Masamune was leaving the introductions to him at this point. "This is Takano Masamune."

"Does An-chan know you're going out with a guy?" Leave it to children to be blunt and to the point. He didn't even seem to notice that Ritsu was completely speechless.

Finally, Ritsu managed to say, "An-chan and I agreed to formally end our engagement. She told me she supported my decision, whatever it was."

"But An-chan and her parents are going to be here later! Awkward." Ritsu's cousin slowly slid down his body until he landed, sitting, on the ground and gazed up at Masamune. "You're tall!"

"I've been told." Masamune eyed Ritsu, who pointedly ignored him and picked up one of the firecrackers.

"Aunt Michiko and Uncle Toru always have a huge fireworks show at midnight. Are you going to be here for that?" the boy asked, completely ignoring Ritsu as he tried to light the now slightly damp firecracker. "Oh and mochi!"

"Ah, I remember. Ritsu brought me some mochi from last year's celebration," Masamune said.

The boy's eyes went big. "You and Ricchan have been together that long?"

Ritsu said no, but Masamune said yes, which earned a glare from his boyfriend. "Well," Masamune conceded. "Not officially." He leaned into the boy conspiratorially and said, "He wouldn't even tell me he loves me until a few months ago."

The boy giggled. "Ricchan is stubborn."

The noise of firecrackers around them suddenly stopped, and Ritsu's cousin seemed to realize that Mrs. Miller had called lunch out to them before going back to finish the preparations. There was such a mass exodus that no one else noticed Ritsu and Masamune. At least until Tsuyu came bounding out now that the noise had stopped, pushing through the crowds. For the third time that day, she tackled Ritsu to the ground.

"Tsuyu, get back here!" It was Ritsu's father this time, pushing past the crowd and looking haggard. He was dressed in a suit and had clearly just arrived from some last-minute work or meeting. No rest for the weary was something he often said. "I'm sorry, Ritsu. You know how she is."

Ritsu sat up, looking dismayed as he kept his eyes closed, feeling around in the grass.

"Lose your contacts again?" Masamune asked. When Ritsu nodded, he leaned down and started feeling around for himself, but neither of them could find them. "Can't you see without them?"

"Not especially. It's kind of a big blur." Ritsu removed his hand from his eyes and blinked rapidly, as if that would help him distinguish anything around him.

Ritsu's father just shook his head. "Come on inside before Mrs. Miller comes out to get you. Your mother has one of your old pairs of glasses somewhere."

Masamune was intrigued.

xxx

Lunch was an awkward affair during which everyone pretty much ignored Ritsu's guest but were forever making fun of him for not being able to see. Finally, when he was done eating, rather than waiting for most people to be done, he asked his mother where she kept his old glasses. His eyes hadn't changed that much over the years, so they'd be an okay replacement until he got home. He cursed himself for not thinking ahead and bringing an extra pair of contacts. He supposed he had been thinking of other things that could go wrong.

It didn't help, though, that Masamune decided he needed to follow Ritsu and his mother up to Ritsu's old room, where a few boxes of his things were kept.

"Ah, here they are, Ritsu," his mother said, taking out a pair of glasses with small lenses and wire frames. The lenses weren't even that thick, but Masamune still had to hold back a snort of laughter when Ritsu put them on and promptly scowled at him. Ritsu's mother left to attend to her guests again, so Masamune and Ritsu were left alone in the room.

"It seems weird," Masamune said, examining a poster that had somehow kept sticking to the wall even after its inhabitant stopped regularly living there. "I never got to come to your house in high school."

"I'm not sure my parents would have let me even if I wanted to bring you home." Despite all the work he'd gone through to find his old glasses, he took them off and folded the arms, putting them on his dresser. He suddenly seemed to think of something, though. "An-chan's family usually gets here around two o'clock."

"You nervous?" Masamune grinned despite himself, wrapping an arm around Ritsu and putting his mouth to Ritsu's jaw line.

"An-chan's parents are good people. I'm just afraid they might consider throwing one of us in Tokyo Bay after tonight." He flinched when Masamune bit lightly on his neck. "And leaving your mark on me won't help prevent that!"

"Why? You already have one right there." Masamune poked a part of Ritsu's neck that was just barely under the neckline of his shirt. Embarrassed, Ritsu slapped his hand to it and pushed Masamune away.

"Have you no shame?"

"Nope."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Ritsu was required by his mother to greet An and her parents when they arrived. Masamune had offered to be there with him, but Ritsu had refused. He knew it would just compound the awkwardness of seeing his ex-fiancée's parents for the first time in so long- even though he had never taken the engagement seriously.

At exactly 2pm, Ritsu and his parents stood outside the large house, watching the Kohinata's car approach. Ritsu had quickly formed the habit of adjusting his temporary glasses when he was nervous, but he quickly put his hand down when his mother eyed him.

"Ricchan!" An was the only one to greet him; her mother and father quickly engaged Ritsu's parents in conversation. "I'm glad you're here." She was smiling so warmly that it almost broke Ritsu's heart.

Ritsu nodded and led her in. His extended family had moved into the backyard again, so there were only a few people in the house. An gazed at Ritsu as they took off their shoes until she finally said, "Ricchan, do you have someone now?"

"What?"

"Right there…" She pointed to his neck, where a dark patch could be seen. Ritsu, of course, couldn't see it, but he still blushed and covered his neck with his hand. Ritsu had plenty of love marks on his body, but most of them were covered by his clothes.

"I'm sorry, An-chan." Ritsu averted his eyes, rubbing at his neck.

"It's okay." An's smile was radiant again. "I'm just glad you found someone to help you move on."

Ritsu flinched at that. If only she knew.

The scene Ritsu and An encountered when they entered the kitchen was an interesting one. Mrs. Miller had started preparing the food for the evening but Annie was standing at the island, having an enthusiastic conversation with Masamune and waving a manga around.

And then she noticed Ritsu standing there, and her smile grew. "Ricchan!" she said, still waving the manga around. "Why didn't you tell me he's a manga editor?"

Ritsu bit back a remark about how, at thirty, he would've thought she had lost her interest in shojo manga. He knew the only thing that would earn would be Masamune throwing something at him, and since they were in a kitchen rather than a manga editing office, he had a lot more sharp objects than X-Acto Knives at his disposal.

Masamune's eyes went from Annie to An, who seemed preoccupied with greeting Annie and Mrs. Miller. Ritsu carefully sat down beside him at the kitchen island, eying the shojo manga volume that lay before him.

"You actually brought that with you?"

"What? It's Ichinose's most recent one." He picked it up and started flipping through it. "I'm not allowed to enjoy my authors?"

"You enjoyed her plenty on Christmas Eve." Ritsu laid his head down on the counter and closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to look at Masamune.

"It was just a couple drinks. And mostly for her. Apparently having your birthday on Christmas Eve is a big deal." He smiled when Ritsu grunted in what he probably thought was a noncommittal way. "We still got to spend time together."

"You showed up at my apartment at midnight and told me you wanted _me_ for Christmas."

"It worked, didn't it?"

It had, and Ritsu wanted to punch Masamune for it. He'd been ready to give him the cold shoulder and had ended up on his hands and knees just beyond the genkan because Masamune was too impatient to get them both to the bed. That was, in hindsight, probably when he got the mark Masamune pointed out earlier.

Ritsu finally raised his head from the counter only to come face-to-neck with someone. That someone, Ritsu discovered when he looked up a little more, was An. He sat bolt-upright, even managing to startle Masamune. "An-chan! Is something the matter?"

An had a smile on her face, but she was fiddling with her long hair in a way that spoke volumes about her current state of mind. And that was, quite obviously, nervous.

"It's good to see you again, Kohinata-san," Masamune said, managing to bow even with the counter in front of him.

"And you as well." An didn't sound so sure, though. "I don't think I was told your name the previous two times."

It was only when Masamune introduced himself that Ritsu realized he had moved his stool right next to Ritsu's and had an arm around his waist. Even just a few months ago Ritsu would've noticed him doing it and pushed him away, but now, he was too used to it.

Before the situation could get any more awkward for Ritsu, his mother called him from somewhere in the house. He gladly bolted up, almost knocking his stool over, and ran for it. Instead of engaging Masamune in a conversation, An bowed her head and went to help cook.

xxx

Two hours later, Masamune found Ritsu up in his old room, just laying on his bed and staring at the ceiling. He'd removed his glasses again, but he still reacted when Masamune stepped in.

"Leave the door open."

Masamune glanced once at the door, then at Ritsu. "Are you serious?"

"I don't trust you."

Masamune smirked at that. He, for one, had no problem if someone walked by and caught them in the middle of undressing each other. Ritsu really should've been aware of that by then. Therefore, he obliged Ritsu's request and immediately went over to him. "I thought we were supposed to be celebrating. What's the point of staying in here by yourself?"

Ritsu sat up and put his glasses on just so he could look at all the bookshelves around him. "When I was younger, I'd stay in my room a lot. My family members would threaten to set my books on fire if I had one around them while they were setting off firecrackers."

Masamune smiled. "I won't let them set you or your books on fire, if it helps." Masamune leaned down and claimed Ritsu's lips with no protest at all, something he relished after a full year of admittedly halfhearted protests. Ritsu's glasses got in the way, though, and so Masamune glared at them, plucked them from his face and continued, plunging his tongue into Ritsu's now-open mouth.

"And you wonder why I don't trust you," Ritsu said when his mouth was free. Masamune was moving down to his neck while sneaking his fingers up under the hem of his shirt. "Ma-Masamune! My parents are right downstairs!"

"We're grown men. They'll understand." He nipped at Ritsu's neck, leaving a small mark right out for all to see. He relished the quiet moan he managed to pull out of his boyfriend before moving his hand up, dragging his fingers along Ritsu's stomach.

That was about as far as he got before they heard the barking ascend the stairs and run straight for them. Masamune was pushed onto the floor as Tsuyu scrambled onto Ritsu's bed, licking at his face. Ritsu spluttered and tried to reprimand his dog, but ended up having to keep his mouth shut lest Tsuyu end up giving him a French kiss. Neither of Ritsu's parents were going up to take care of the dog, and so Masamune ended up pulling her by the collar. She immediately sat down on the floor, her tail thumping against the floor.

"I think your dog is trying to tell you something, Ritsu," Masamune said, eying the excited animal.

"I don't know what's wrong with her. She's never been this… affectionate before." Ritsu wiped the slobber off his glasses but still didn't put them back on.

Seeming satisfied, Tsuyu trotted off, jumping a little and picking up the pace when someone set off another firecracker in the backyard. Masamune smiled and put his lips to the mark he'd just made. "Maybe she's just trying to mark her territory."

"As if you don't do that enough." He flinched when Masamune ran his hand over Ritsu's stomach which, true to his word, had love marks in various stages of fading all over it.

"You never give up, do you?" Ritsu asked, only slightly flinching when Takano put his lips to Ritsu's cheek.

"You should know the answer to that by now."

"Ritsu! Come say hello to An-chan's parents!" And there was his mother, calling down the hallway as if actually going up to Ritsu's room and talking to him was too much work.

Ritsu buried his face in Masamune's shoulder and said something about not wanting to be thrown into Tokyo Bay before obliging.

"It's good to see you again," Ritsu said as he bowed deeply to the Kohinatas, ignoring Masamune's standing just behind him with an amused look. An-chan's father had already occupied himself with someone else, but the female Kohinata smiled and bowed as well.

"And you too, Ricchan. Your mother says you've been keeping yourself busy."

"Yes. I work for a monthly magazine now, and there's quite a lot of work that goes into every issue," Ritsu said. By this time Masamune was snickering, mostly at Ritsu's formal speech pattern. Wanting to get back at him in some small way, Ritsu turned and said, "This is the head editor of Emerald Monthly, Takano Masamune."

"Oh! I believe we've met before!" An-chan's mother looked excited at the prospect. "Marukawa has a deal to distribute electronic versions of some of their older manga through our company's e-reader." She laughed, as if someone had just told the best joke in the world. "And here I was thinking he was…" Then she eyed the two young men before her. "Well, Ritsu, your mother said you were bringing someone special and to not be alarmed."

And there it was, the invisible barrier that Ritsu had been afraid to cross the minute he stepped foot into his family's home. Unlike with An-chan, Masamune didn't wrap an arm around his waist, or take his hand, or anything. It seemed this decision was entirely his.

"Forgive me, Kohinata-san, but I think you were correct in your first assumption." Ritsu managed a smile. "However, Masamune wasn't the main reason I didn't want to marry your daughter, so I hope you won't have any ill will towards either of us."

The woman's only reaction was a slow nod, the kind one might use when they weren't going to protest an idea but would take some time getting used to it.

When she turned away from them, Masamune said, "And you were afraid they were going to drop us into Tokyo Bay."

Ritsu's only reaction was to hit him.

xxx

At around 11:55 that night, Ritsu's family and their guests were all around the grounds of the Onoderas' home, eating and talking and just waiting for midnight to come. Professional pyrotechnicians had been hired for the fireworks show, and some of the children were spending their time around them, trying to convince the workers to let them set off the fireworks themselves. Ritsu and his parents had made the mochi together earlier, and Ritsu was enjoying one as he sat on the driveway and just stared up at the sky.

At least until Masamune came running through, having gotten caught up in a game of tag with several of his younger cousins. "Careful guys, he's an old man. He can't keep up with you for long."

"You look like more of an old man than me!" Masamune yelled, finally getting a hold of one of the kids and picking her up, resulting in a stream of giggles. "If you frown anymore, those wrinkles will be permanent."

"Yeah, Ricchan," one of the other kids said. "Momma tells me not to frown 'cause my face will get stuck that way."

Predictably, this made Ritsu frown. It didn't last long, though, because the clock hit twelve. Children could be seen running out of the backyard, where the pyrotechnics staff had set up for the show, and Ritsu looked up just in time for the first few to shoot up into the distance and explode in bursts of white and red. The children were all busy staring up at it in amazement, but Masamune sat down and pulled Ritsu into his lap. Ritsu might have protested, but the Kohinatas were frankly the only thing still making him nervous, and they had left for their own celebration after dinner.

Everyone around them was cheering and making various other noises of celebration, but Ritsu could still hear Masamune say, "Is this what it's like every year?"

"Yep." Ritsu nodded, leaning into Masamune and resting his head on his neck. "Why? Didn't your family do things like this?"

"Hardly." Masamune snorted. "My parents wouldn't even bring me to a temple. They were too busy with themselves and fighting most years."

"We'll have to visit in the morning, then." Ritsu yawned despite all the action going on around him.

Masamune smiled. "Thanks."

"What're you thanking me for? We would've gone, anyway." Ritsu's eyelids finally drifted down. "Stupid Takano-san."

Masamune waited about a minute before saying, "What, no hime-hajime tonight?"

"Later," Ritsu murmured, still mostly asleep.

That was good enough for him.


End file.
